The Nigerian Telecommunications Commission (NCC) has ordered all mobile telecommunications companies in the country to block the use of pre-registered sim cards believed to be used by criminals to carry out crimes across the country.

The Deputy Director of Consumer Affairs Bureau, NCC, Ismail Adedigba, issued the warning at the commission’s 87th consumer outreach in Port Harcourt.

According to him, network providers caught still carrying pre-registered Sim cards will be severely punished.

“I expected to hear that all sim cards are registered. But I have issues with Service Providers here, how did we get these pre-registered Sims to start with? I think your networks should have the total number of available lines and the total number of subscribers in your database, and as such, you should be able to know which Sims age registered and those that are not registered and automatically deactivate those that are pre-registered and those that are not properly registered. Note that a severe punishment awaits any provider whose network is still carrying pre-registered SIM cards,” he said.

Adedigba urged the service providers to improve their service delivery to ease some of the frustrations being faced by consumers due to poor service delivery.

Nigeria has set punitive restrictions on unregistered SIM cards in the country with the concerned that they are being used for criminal activities.

Last year, mobile phone giant MTN was accused of fuelling the Islamist-led insurgency in Nigeria by failing to disconnect unregistered Sim cards. In this framework, the Nigerian unit was initially fined $5.2 billion. However, the fine was later reduced after its parent company agreed to list its subsidiary on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Anita Fatunji